The 57th annual Martha’s Vineyard Christmas Bird Count was held on Friday, Dec. 30. From pre-dawn to dusk, 71 birders covered the Island while another 17 birders monitored the comings and goings of feathered friends from their bird feeders. The 13 teams and feeder watchers tallied 18,679 birds of 119 species, and an additional four species were observed during the count week (three days before and three days after the count).
High winds limited visibility on the ocean, which made identifying and counting sea ducks and alcids difficult. As these bird groups are typically some of the highest counts for species, our overall count was low. Locating songbirds amidst 20 to 30 mph winds was also difficult, so a few species of sparrows and warblers typically observed during our CBC were not detected. With the temperature well above freezing, however, many fresh ponds were open for waterfowl. Most dabbling duck numbers were higher than in years when ponds were frozen.
Highlights included a Northern shoveler that remained in Edgartown for at least a week after the count, flocks of tree swallows in Menemsha and Squibnocket, an Eastern phoebe at Brine’s pond on Chappy, and a barn owl in a Chilmark barn. Carolina wrens were up slightly from last year (42 versus 36), and tufted titmice continue to make a strong showing as feeder birds, with 249 counted. Interestingly, only 48 mute swans were counted, whereas last year’s tally had 168. As mute swans are a non-native, invasive species, I hope that decline is real and that we will see fewer nesting pairs on our ponds this spring.
Many thanks to Elio Silva (the Vineyard Grocer), the Daniels Wildlife Trust, and Penny Uhlendorf for providing food for the tally at the Wakeman Center; to Mass Audubon at Felix Neck for hosting the feeder count data collection; and to Sharon Pearson, Vasha Brunelle, and Ellen Miller for answering calls and entering feeder count data.
The final results list the number of each species observed on the count. CW means the species was observed during the count week, but not on count day.
Snow goose (white morph), CW; Brant, 91; Canada goose, 2,119; Mute swan, 48; Wood duck, 10; Gadwall, 4; American wigeon, 55; American black duck, 684; Mallard, 608; Northern shoveler, 1; Northern pintail, 6; Green-winged teal, 22; Redhead, 2; Ring-necked duck, 61; Greater scaup, 807; Lesser scaup, 19; Common eider, 459; Harlequin duck, 37; Surf scoter, 255; White-winged scoter, 264; Black scoter, 147; Scoter species, 887; Long-tailed duck, 62; Bufflehead, 831; Common goldeneye, 287; Hooded merganser, 167; Common merganser, 21; Red-breasted merganser, 416; Ruddy duck, 3.
Wild turkey, 110; Red-throated loon, 49; Common loon, 107; Pied-billed grebe, 16; Horned grebe, 9; Red-necked grebe, 6; Shearwater sp. (Manx), 4; Northern gannet, 56; Double-crested cormorant, 31; Great cormorant, 26; Great blue heron, 26; Black-crowned night-heron, 9.
Turkey vulture, 57; Bald eagle, 2; Northern harrier, 3; Sharp-shinned hawk, 3; Cooper’s hawk, 7; Red-tailed hawk, 37; Merlin, 1; Peregrine falcon, 1; American coot, 2; Black-bellied plover, 20; Killdeer, CW; Sanderling, 230; Dunlin, 35; Wilson’s snipe, 1; American woodcock, CW; Bonaparte’s gull, 7; Ring-billed gull, 163; Herring gull, 1,254; Lesser black-backed gull, 3; Glaucous gull, 1; Great black-backed gull, 177 Black-legged kittiwake, 2; Dovekie, 10; Razorbill, 521; Black guillmot, 1; Alcid species, 200.
Rock pigeon, 155; Mourning dove, 227; Barn owl, 1; Eastern screech-owl, 4; Snowy owl, CW; Belted kingfisher, 8; Red-bellied woodpecker, 59; Yellow-bellied sapsucker, 1; Downy woodpecker, 82; Hairy woodpecker, 18; Northern flicker, 34; Eastern phoebe, 1; Blue jay, 240; American crow, 808; Fish crow, 283; Horned lark, 2; Tree swallow, 47; Black-capped chickadee, 956; Tufted titmouse, 249; Red-breasted nuthatch, 48; White-breasted nuthatch, 94; Brown creeper, 8; Carolina wren, 42; Winter wren, 3.
Golden-crowned kinglet, 18; Ruby-crowned kinglet, 1; Eastern bluebird, 75; Hermit thrush, 2; American robin, 262; Gray catbird, 5; Northern mockingbird, 23; European starling, 1,708; American pipit, 15; Cedar waxwing, 22; Yellow-rumped warbler, 195; Pine warbler, 9; Palm warbler, 4; Yellow-breasted chat, 5; Eastern towhee, 4.
American tree sparrow, 1; Chipping sparrow, 6; Field sparrow, 3; Savannah sparrow, 6; Song sparrow, 153; Swamp sparrow, 6; White-throated sparrow, 122; Dark-eyed junco, 313; Snow bunting, 3; Northern cardinal, 177; Red-winged blackbird, 12; Eastern meadowlark, 17; Rusty blackbird, 2; Common grackle, 2; Brown-headed cowbird, 3; Baltimore oriole, 1; Purple finch, 3; House finch, 176; American goldfinch, 187; House sparrow, 203.
Total individuals seen: 18,679. Species: 119. Count week species: four.
Team participants: 71. Total party hours: 125. Party hours on foot: 67.5. Party hours in car: 52.5. Miles on foot: 54. Miles in car: 392. Owling hours: 6.5. Owling miles: 7.5. Feeder participants: 17. Total feeder hours: 103.
Bird Sightings
For bird news in brief this week: Susan Straight reported two Carolina wrens at her home in Chilmark on Sunday, Feb. 19, which is encouraging. I observed two snowy owls out on the Edgartown Great Pond barrier beach on Feb. 23.
Red-winged blackbirds have arrived en masse with the unseasonably warm weather. Allan Keith reported 30 plus, mostly male, at his feeder on Feb. 23, and Randy Rynd reported a large flock in West Tisbury on the 25th that included some grackles and cowbirds.
Tree swallows were reported near Brookside Farm on Feb. 24 by Caitlin Healy and on Feb. 26 by Allan Keith. Mr. Keith also reports six redheads in Chilmark pond on Feb. 26. Long Point Wildlife Refuge continues to offer excellent waterfowl viewing opportunities as Ken Magnuson reported four common mergansers, 150 hooded mergansers, and 10 ring necked ducks on Feb. 24.
Send your bird sightings to birds@mvgazette.com.
Luanne Johnson is a wildlife biologist and director of BiodiversityWorks on Martha’s Vineyard.
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